Publications

November 2003 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Beverly Stern: Retail Executive

By: H. Kent Bowen and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Beverly Stern has been a successful operating manager in three prominent retail chains: GAP, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma. Stern's last job at a start-up did not meet her expectations, and she must now decide what to do next. She has an offer to start a new retail... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Experience and Expertise; Personal Characteristics; Jobs and Positions; Decisions; Retail Industry

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2003
Case

Lakhdar Brahimi / Negotiating a New Government for Afghanistan

By: James K. Sebenius and Kristin Schneeman

Part of the PON Great Negotiator Case Study Series, this factual case study examines former UN Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's involvement in negotiating an interim Afghani government after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. As a result of these efforts, Brahimi... View Details

Keywords: Contemporary History; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Leadership Style; Cognition and Thinking; Conferences; Afghanistan

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Managing Knowledge and Learning at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and David Kiron

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) faces a serious loss of knowledge--both because of the "faster, better, cheaper" mandate for Mars missions and from the retirement of key personnel. An extensive knowledge management system for NASA/JPL includes formal knowledge-capture... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Knowledge Dissemination; Leadership Development; Internet and the Web; Risk and Uncertainty; Organizational Culture; Retirement; Human Resources; Human Capital

August 2001 (Revised August 2012)
Case

BestDoctors, Inc.

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Seth Bokser

Upon learning the news of a critical illness, patients and their families are shocked, saddened, fearful, and angry all at once. And just as soon as they catch their collective breath, they all ask the same question—a question that has the potential to infuse hope into... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Knowledge Sharing; Demand and Consumers; Health Industry

April 2000 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Career Strategies and Tactics in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong and Scot H. Landry

Presents suggestions for ensuring a good start in a professional services career. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Performance Expectations; Performance Effectiveness; Customization and Personalization; Practice; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Business Startups; Competency and Skills; Learning; Talent and Talent Management; Management Skills; Consulting Industry

March 2000
Background Note

Fall Before Rising, A: The Story of Jai Jaikumar (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Richard Compton Squire, Sarah Patricia Vickers-Willis and Harry James Wilson

What is the relationship between good fortune, professional success, and a moral obligation to other people? Jai Jaikumar, who as a youth was saved by a shepherd woman after a tragic mountaineering accident in the Himalayas, and who later rose to the top of his... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; History; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Familiarity; Perception; Welfare

May 1999
Case

Susan Brown

By: William A. Sahlman

A number of issues confront an associate in a venture capital firm. She has just learned that her senior partners are not yet willing to make her a general partner of the firm. She has several options and must decide what to do. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Venture Capital; Personal Development and Career; Leadership Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry

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April 1999
Teaching Note

Managing Experimentation: Module Overview Note for Managing Product Development(Note for Instructor)

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Describes the conceptual foundations and pedagogy for a module on managing experimentation in the development of products and services. The module has been taught in the second-year elective MBA course Managing Product Development. The purpose of the module is to help... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Business or Company Management; Product Development; Personal Development and Career; Science; Technology Adoption

March 1994 (Revised December 1998)
Background Note

Managing Your Career

By: Linda A. Hill

Designed to serve as background reading for the "Managing Your Career" module of the second-year MBA elective Power and Influence. Describes the way in which managers learn and develop through on-the-job experience. Outlines a model for launching a "success syndrome"... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career

November 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Background Note

Orientation to the Subarctic Survival Situation

By: Linda A. Hill

An orientation to the "Subarctic Survival Situation" (designed by and available from Human Synergistics, Inc., Plymouth, MI, tel. 313-459-1030), an experiental exercise that gives students an opportunity to learn about their personal influence style and their... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation; Decisions; Power and Influence; Groups and Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions

June 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Jonah Creighton (A)

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

How do you manage yourself and your interaction with others when you feel your personal values challenged? What should you be aware of as you proceed with sensitive, ethical issues? Jonah Creighton coordinates the company's fast-track training program, and when he... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Human Resources; Selection and Staffing; Problems and Challenges

1989
Book

Growing Up Creative

By: T. M. Amabile

Keywords: Creativity; Early Childhood Education; Learning; Teaching; Training; Social Psychology; Personal Characteristics; Motivation and Incentives; Performance; Cognition and Thinking

Teaching Interest

Advanced Management Program: Transforming Proven Leaders into Global Executives

By: Guhan Subramanian

As the world economy continues to evolve, so do the requirements for global leadership. The Advanced Management Program (AMP) is a powerful, transformational, and personalized learning experience that explores the best management practices... View Details

Forthcoming
Article

An AI Method to Score Celebrity Visual Potential from Human Faces

By: Flora Feng, Shunyuan Zhang, Xiao Liu, Kannan Srinivasan and Cait Lamberton

It has long been a mantra of marketing practice that, particularly in low-involvement situations, spokespeople should be physically attractive. This paper suggests there is a higher probability of gaining fame and influence (i.e., celebrity potential) than is captured... View Details

Keywords: Personal Characteristics; AI and Machine Learning; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing